Africa

Ethiopian authorities release Camair Co’s Boeing 767

4, July 2016

Ethiopian authorities release Camair Co’s Boeing 767 0

After spending six months in Ethiopia for maintenance and unpaid bills, Camair Co’s Boeing 767 landed in Douala on Saturday July the 2nd.  The Boeing code named the Dja was flown to Addis Ababa for repairs but had to stay put for a six months period because Camair Co was unable to pay for the technical maintenance work.  A source who sued for anonymity told Cameroon Concord News that it needed the intervention of the Minister of Transport for the Ethiopian authorities to release the plane.

Welcoming the crew at the Douala International airport, the general manager of Camair Co, Nana Sandjo, assisted by members of his staff said the Boeing 767 was ready for business, “everything was refurbished. It can resume flying.” Nana Sandjo added that, “There is just some small checks to be done in Cameroon and Camair-Co, as well as paperwork.” The Dja has a 220 passenger capacity.

Rita Akana (Cameroon Concord News Group)

After the Netherlands: British authorities sanctions 14 Cameroon timber companies

2, July 2016

After the Netherlands: British authorities sanctions 14 Cameroon timber companies 0

14 importers of timber from Cameroon have been sanctioned by UK authorities responsible for the application and enforcement of the Wood Regulations of the European Union Cameroon Concord News has learned.  The sanctions were made public by Chatham House London and follow those already issued by the Netherlands on March 9, 2016. They revolve around the exploitation and illegal trade of wood from the Cameroonian forest ranked among the richest in biodiversity in the Congo basin.

These sanctions supported by the leadership of Greenpeace have confirmed rumors that Wood from Cameroon is the subject of a thorough review by the European Union. The list of the 14 importers has not been published by the British government. However, a leading Greenpeace figure in Cameroon was quoted as saying that the companies are identifiable.

The CPDM government had long been cautioned by the EU following its failure to apply strict forestry rules.  Of these 14 importers, 6 received a warning for corrective action while warning letters were served to 7 operators. Since the entry into force in 2010 of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Cameroon has not made much effort to fight against illegal logging.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News)

Cameroon ranks 17th in the classification of African countries using Face book

24, June 2016

Cameroon ranks 17th in the classification of African countries using Face book 0

Cameroon has been ranked 17th in the classification of African countries using Face book. Cameroon Concord News gathered from the data released by Face book that over one million Cameroonians are registered on this social network. 620,000 are men (64%), and 340 000 of them (36%) are women.

Another study on the data presented by the social network Mark Zuckerberg noted that Cameroonian youth are those who are most interested in social media. 170 000 subscribers are between the ages of 13 and 19 years, 17%; 440 000 between the ages of 18 and 25 years (46%). The 35 years are only 156,000 people (16.25%).

The ranking is dominated by Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria. However, the social network is attracting more and more companies.

Rita Akana (Cameroon Concord News Group)

Corruption scandal rocks SODECOTON as 580 million disappears from company coffers

23, June 2016

Corruption scandal rocks SODECOTON as 580 million disappears from company coffers 0

The CEO’s of public companies in Cameroon have continued their CPDM policy of looting in the open. This is the case with the Cameroon Cotton Development Company, SODECOTON, where 580 million FCFA have been stolen recently. Cameroon Concord News learned that SODECOTON created in 1974 by the Cameroon government is facing the worse ever financial crisis in its history.

Our chief intelligence officer hinted at the time of filing this report that a dozen company executive members have already been interrogated by prosecutors at the Special Criminal Court and 6 of them are in police custody.  A sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report revealed that some of those highly placed SODECOTON officials arrested over the week end were transported to Yaoundé by a military plane from Garoua including the out gone general manager, Abdou Namba.

This is not the first time that cases of misappropriation of public funds have been reported in Sodecoton. In 2007, more than 174 million CFA francs disappeared from the state enterprise. The funds were reportedly diverted to Cotton Sport Garoua- a football club partly owned by SODECOTO.

The most recent case is that of Iya Mohammed, former general manager of Sodecoton, serving a 15 years sentence at the Kondengui central prison. He was charged in September 2015 for embezzling 11 billion FCFA.

Tambe Peter (Cameroon Concord News Group)

Bodies of 19 Ethiopians found in a container in the Democratic Republic of Congo

18, June 2016

Bodies of 19 Ethiopians found in a container in the Democratic Republic of Congo 0

The bodies of nineteen Ethiopians suffocated in a container have been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo precisely in Mwenda, a town in the Mokambo district.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from Congolese media sources that the nineteen Ethiopians were undocumented and their bodies were found in the bush 7 km from Mwenda, to the border town of Mokambo in Upper Katanga.

75 survivors (72 Ethiopians and 3 Zambians) were also discovered in the same container. We also learned that the illegal immigrants were being transported by a Zambian truck driver en route to South Africa.

CIR

 

Cameroon: Prices of basic commodities soar, CPDM government won’t talk!!!

17, June 2016

Cameroon: Prices of basic commodities soar, CPDM government won’t talk!!! 0

Getting eight unripe bananas at 100 FCFA or a 15-litre measure of white maize at 3,500 FCFA is no longer possible in Douala today. Talk less of buying a 10-litre container of charcoal (big lumps) at 1,000 FCFA. Families that hitherto depended on essential protein like beans or eggs are now unable to afford them.

Traders like Marguerite Kemba and Donatus T. attribute the hikes to the age-old problem of inaccessibility to production zones, especially as downpours become regular. According to Hans Nfor, it is a season of scarcity for maize and beans because farmers are still waiting for new harvest. Meanwhile, old stocks are gradually being depleted. The obvious impact, they say, is that it has not only created the scarcity of some foodstuff in Douala markets, but also price hikes as many scramble for the few quantities available.

Claudette Ndi, a buyer, said the main sources of protein for her family used to be eggs and beans, but with the scare of Bird Flu in the country, she is unable to afford them. “I can’t go for alternatives like fresh beef because it is even more expensive for a family of eight,” she disclosed. Jacques K., a breadwinner, added that the price hikes have provoked misunderstanding among couples: “Without a corresponding rise in income, I am uncertain of the future.”

Now, only four bananas sell for 100 FCFA and seven for 200 FCFA, for the bigger ones in Marché Buea. Nonetheless, a 15-litre of white maize now costs 4,000 FCFA. Only smart bidders are able to match traders to purchase at 3,900 FCFA. Only last April in Marché des Pommes, the same quantity cost 3,500 FCFA. As for yellow maize, the price of the same quantity has soared to 4,500 FCFA, from 3,800 FCFA. Charcoal, which is preferred by most low-income families for fuel, has climbed to 1,500 FCFA from 1,000 per 10-litre container.

Even so, only the most daring buyer undertakes the telling experience of squeezing through the muddy, narrow aisles of the Charcoal Market in order to find dry charcoal. The prices of beans (red, white and MEDINO) are astronomical, having gone from 10,000 FCFA and 11,000 FCFA to 12,000 FCFA and 13,000 FCFA for 15-litre containers. Meanwhile, a cup of beans now costs 150 FCFA, compared to 125 FCFA two months ago.

Cameroon Tribune

Bodies of three dozen refugees found in Niger Sahara Desert

16, June 2016

Bodies of three dozen refugees found in Niger Sahara Desert 0

The bodies of nearly three dozen refugees, including women and children, have been found in Niger’s Sahara Desert, where they were apparently abandoned by smugglers en route to neighboring Algeria and eventually Europe. “Thirty four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children, died trying to cross the desert,” Niger’s Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said two of the victims have been identified as Nigerians but the nationalities of the others were not immediately clear. Bazoum said the bodies were found near the northern desert town of Assamaka, at a border post between Niger and Algeria. The refugees, he said, had died between June 6 and 12. Thirst was described in the statement as a probable cause. Temperatures currently stand at 42 degrees in the region.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has estimated that 120,000 people crossed through the Niger desert last year and 60,000 between February and April this year. The IOM also recorded 37 refugee deaths in the desert in 2015. Libya used to play host to the majority of the refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa on their way to Europe, but since the North African country plunged into political chaos in 2011, Algeria has become the new route.

Thousands of illegal migrants and refugees have recently arrived in Algeria on their way to Europe, mostly from neighboring Mali and Niger. More than 7,000 Nigerien migrants, mostly women and children, were turned back from Algeria to their home country in 2015 as part of an agreement between the two countries’ governments. Meanwhile, Europe has recently curbed the number of illegal arrivals from Africa, after a deal with Ankara in March reduced the number of people trying to cross from Turkey.

Presstv

 

16, June 2016

Yaounde: Credit Unions go on the offensive to attract customers 0

Financial experts say the wrongdoings of Micro Finance Institutions in Cameroon of late with shutdown and swindled live savings of customers has prompted the rush by many Cameroonians to embrace the services of credit unions. A credit union is category one micro finance institution; Its characteristics are different in terms of ownership, experts say. A credit union is owned by members while a group of shareholders owns bigger microfinance institution explains Albert Ndikwa, a Chief Accountant.

The Melen-Biyem Assi neighbourhood is a typical example of the sprouting of credit union with roots from the North West Region. “I once counted and had over 20 of such banking institutions from between Total Melen and Carrefour Biyem-Assi,” Albert Ndikwa said. The Manchok Credit Union, the Bamenda Police Credit Union, the Mve Credit Union, the Kumbo Credit Union, Santa Credit Union, Awing Credit Union, Bambili, Bambui and Bessi-Awum credit union are just few of the many. Proximity to clientele, tribal affiliation and other advantages are just few of the driving factors of the structures that reportedly offers enticing products.

Opening an account at the Bessi-Awum Credit Union Limited in the Biyem-Assi requires a sum total of FCFA 32,000 of which shares count for FCFA 25,000, building fees for FCFA 5000, registration fees of FCFA 1,500 and pass book at FCFA 500, Abigail Efang revealed. The union’s interest rates stand at 1.85 and drops as the loan reduces. Other credit unions have more enticing services like daily collectors charged with collecting savings and deposits from members with busy work schedules free of charge.

Some credit union managers explain that customers unable to open accounts but save on daily or weekly basis are charged FCFA 1,000 monthly for the services of daily collectors meanwhile duly registered members only require to locate their addresses for their savings to be collected and saved free of charge. Risks are covered by the office after due investigation, it was revealed.

Albert Ndikwa revealed that buying a share or belonging to the credit union automatically makes you a member/shareholder with end of year dividends, making it comfortable for many to belong to such financial institutions. The micro finance (small bank) have banking systems of operation meanwhile credit unions have less traditional banking stress. Just the fact that credit unions are governed by a Board of Directors voted by the General Assembly with micro finance bodies controlled entirely by  Board of Directors who are the shareholders, has given the more people the encouragement to belong to the former, as many fear collapse and the eventual sinking of their savings.

 

Cameroon Tribune

Cameroon: Pig farmers improving hygienic conditions

16, June 2016

Cameroon: Pig farmers improving hygienic conditions 0

Pig farmers and butchers have been cleaning up their environment and workplaces to give a better image to their businesses. Disinfecting slaughtering corners, pig styles and slabs regularly with caustic soda, inspecting carcasses before sale and selling in clean environment is a must for avoiding any contamination. According to pig butchers and farmers in the Wouri Division, hygiene and sanitation are passwords for the pig sector that is increasingly attracting customers.

In times past, it was common to see makeshift pork slabs along the street, selling to naive customers who cared less about the hygienic conditions of the pork. Today, veterinary doctors do not only confiscate such carcasses that are unfit for human consumption, but destroy them on the spot. In all the subdivisions in Wouri, there exists legal slaughter corners where a veterinary team inspects the carcasses before they are declared fit for consumption.

In the Douala II municipality where about 120 pigs are slaughtered daily, animal health staff ensure hygiene in the lone slaughter corner and that the animals are in good health. Pork dealers now practice thorough hygiene and sanitation following the crisis in the poultry sector that killed thousands of table birds in the Centre Region. Roger Fogang, the Pig Butchers’ President in the Douala II Council Area, restated the importance of hygiene: “We carry out regular and compulsory cleaning of the market once a week. I also make sure that all pig butchers keep their surroundings and slabs clean and put on white jackets to give dignity to the profession,” Roger Fogang explained.

On the other hand, veterinary officers ensure that butchers acquire medical certificates,” he explained. At a recent meeting with over 400 pig dealers in Wouri, the Divisional Delegate for Livestock, Dr Guy Mimbang, cautioned them to avert epidemic outbreaks by being ready to compete with modern butchers in supermarkets.

Cameroon Tribune

15, June 2016

Yaounde: Ericsson’s cream of experts say 5G will be available by 2020 0

Experts from Ericsson announced on Tuesday in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital that 5G will be available by 2020. Analyzing the telecommunications environment in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ericsson’s Special Representative for Cameroon and a cream of other senior technicians of the company revealed to a group of pressmen and women the latest information on trends and innovations in the mobile telecom market.

The experts hinted that on the recommendations of the last Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (February 2016), 5G should be ready for mass deployment by 2020. Cameroon Intelligence Report learned that the number of subscriptions associated with Smartphones is on a steady rise in Cameroon.

CIR

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